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VOL. 5/ISSUE 7
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2016
2 years on, PSL veterans nursing home still not started Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
On Dec. 12, 2014, the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs hosted a press conference in Port St. Lucie to announce it’d be home to the seventh state veterans nursing home. “We hope to have groundbreaking by late 2015,” Steve Murray, communications director, said at a press gaggle that day. He added, “We hope to have shovels in the ground by this time next year.” Next year, 2015, came and went. No shovels hit the ground. Then talk was of starting the home in 2016. In December last year, the VA released a list of proposed and existing state veterans nursing facilities in line for construction and renovation grants in 2016. The proposed Copas facility was number 11 on the list in line for up to $25 million from the VA. The VA’s decision followed Gov. Rick Scott’s request for the State Legislature to put about $6.7 million during the state’s 2016 fiscal year toward building the home. The federal VA’s state veterans home program funds up to 65 percent for construction of new homes. The states receiving the construction grants must fund the remainders. The Copas home was projected to be almost a $38 million construction project, and take about two years to build once started. The FDVA then figured the groundbreaking would be in the fall of ’16 and the state’s funding share would be split between fiscal years 2016 and 2017. Then the proposed facility in Port St. Lucie’s
See COPAS page 9
Photo by Airman 1st Class Ashleigh Pavelek Declan Alexander sits in an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, S.C. Declan spent the day as the Swamp Fox ‘Pilot for a Day,’ a program that provides an opportunity for disadvantaged or seriously ill children to spend a day with members of the South Carolina Air National Guard.
Boy lives dream as 'Pilot For A Day' Ashleigh Pavelek
greeted with thumbs-up and well wishes from the airmen he met on base.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Six-year-old Declan Alexander was recently honored as a Swamp Fox Pilot for a Day by the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., receiving a hero’s welcome from the moment he arrived on base. Declan and his father Brian Alexander were guests of the South Carolina Air National Guard Aug. 15, as part of the Pilot for a Day program, which allows children with disadvantages or debilitating illnesses to experience the life of a fighter pilot. “Pilot for a Day allows us to reach out to the community, make community bonds and make a difference in someone’s life,” said 1st Lt. Cody May, a fighter pilot assigned to the 157th Fighter Squadron and Declan’s host for the day. The tour, led by May, began with Declan receiving a custom pilot’s flight suit from the aircrew flight equipment shop. He was later escorted to the end of the runway to watch F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft land and was
Lifetime Memories “It is hard to express how cool it is to have everyone take time out of their day to set all this up and show us around and create lasting memories,” Brian Alexander said. “It really is an amazing experience. There really are not words to express how much of a big deal this is for him and for us.” Declan displayed a big smile while sitting in the cockpit of an F-16 bearing his name on the side. He also enjoyed spraying the water cannon from McEntire’s largest fire truck while touring the fire department, Brian Alexander said. “Getting to ride in a fire truck and getting to sit in a fighter jet are two things you don’t ever get to do,” he said. “Those were definitely a ton of fun and put a smile on his face.” The Pilot for a Day program helps a child
See BOY page 9